A Precious Discovery
by knoteach
Summary: ATF Precious Gems AU (A new Universe I'm developing) Chris and the rest of ATF Team 7 find more than they bargained for during a sweep after a bust. (complete)
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I make no claims any of the characters contained in the story below. No money or other recompense has been received for these writings; they are intended solely for the purposes of entertainment.

* * *

A Precious Discovery

knoteach

**Part1**

Providing back-up for other teams was all well and good, but doing it in the worst part if the warehouse district in the middle of January wasn't exactly tops on Chris Larabee's favorite locations or timing. But as things turned out, this one happened to be one of the easier ones, the bust going off without a hitch. Still Team 7 had to stick around for the clean-up, and he wasn't too happy to be assigned check the alleys.

Relaying the instructions to the rest of his team, Larabee made short work of his assigned alleys. Coming up clear on his last one, Chris noticed another a couple hundred feet up the street on the opposite side. "What the hell, might as well check this one, too."

Looking into the poorly lit back alley, Chris scanned for anything suspicious and came up empty. Noticing the lack of another exit, Chris saw nothing else of interest and started to turn away. But something in the back of his mind prevented it. Something was screaming at him that he needed to have a better look at that alley.

Trusting his instincts, Chris drew his side arm and stepped farther into the alley. He stopped in the edge of the shadows to let his eyes adjust better to the low lighting, but still saw nothing but trash and dumpsters. Listening carefully, he heard only a few mice scurrying in the corners. Shaking his head, Larabee lowered his weapon and prepared to leave the alley, when his eyes swung to the left side of the alley and spied something under the edge of a broken up cardboard box.

It was a child's shoe. And there was a foot in it!

* * *

Momentarily stunned, Chris stood and stared at it, his temper rising. _What kind of parent would leave a child out in the open in this area!_ "Hey, you under the box, come on out!" he said forcefully.

The child's only response was to pull his foot in farther.

Chris holstered his weapon and stepped back as he pulled out his radio to inform the others of what he found. "Buck?" He knew Josiah and Nathan would be listening into, but Buck was the one closest to his location.

"Yeah, Chris? What'd you find?" the ladies' man said. Buck Wilmington was Chris second in command and team undercover and explosives specialist. Buck had been Chris' best friend for many years. Only Buck had been able to hold Chris together when his family had been killed.

"I got a child alone in one of the alleys on this side. I'm about a hundred feet past the perimeter on west side of Harborough. Josiah, Nathan, head this way, too. We may need to contact Family Services."

"Roger that."

Chris could hear the slight tinge of anger in the big man's voice. He smirked just a little. Buck Wilmington liked to play the tough federal agent, but the man had two weaknesses: beautiful women and little children.

Quickly checking in with the team they had been backing up, Chris told them what he had found. Team 12's Leader told him that clean up was done; he was free to deal with this as he wished. They were going to head back to the Federal Building.

Shaking his head, Chris headed back over to where he had seen the child's foot. Squatting down, he tried again. "Come on out, I ain't gonna hurt ya'." There was a slight shifting of the box, but the child made no effort to crawl out of his hiding place. Chris glanced up sharply as someone else entered the deserted alley. Waving Buck over, Chris pointed to the pile of cardboard and debris in front of him and mouthed, 'He's under here,' at his team mate. Buck nodded and positioned himself between the stack and the mouth of the alley.

In one motion, Chris reached under the box, grabbed the child's ankle, and pulled him from his hiding place. Chris had just enough time to note that the child was a boy of about ten years, before said boy kicked him hard enough to over balance him and send him sprawling backward.

The terrified boy scrambled to his feet and tried to bolt past Buck toward the freedom of the street, but Buck quickly reached out and nabbed the boy around the middle, lifting him clear of the ground. The only sound the boy made this entire time was a started yelp when Buck caught a hold of him, but that was enough to send the alley careening into chaos.

* * *

As if the cry had been a scripted signal, another smaller body hurtled out from behind a dumpster on their left screaming, "Let him go!" Chris reached out to grab the small child and keep him from reaching Buck and the still struggling older boy, but he was ended up blindside by a third boy coming from the opposite direction as the second. Where this one came from he would never know.

Grabbing the boy and pinning his arms, Chris took a look at him. He looked to be around seven, but he was surprisingly strong for his size. From the look in the boy's emerald green eyes though, it was strength born of fear. The boy was absolutely terrified. Glancing over at Buck, he saw that his old friend was having problems of his own. Buck was having to use both hands to control the oldest boy which left the smallest one free to hang on him trying to loosen his grip. Tucking the chestnut haired boy he was holding against his side, Chris moved to help Buck.

The moment he stepped nearer the smaller child, the one in his arms spoke up, "Run, JD!" Chris was surprised by the clear, decidedly Southern accented voice coming from the child he held. Chris saw a fear matching the fear in the green eyes in the brown eyes that turned to him.

Before he could say anything to reassure them, or move to grab the smallest boy, the child released his grip on Buck's arm and fled toward the mouth of the alley. Josiah and Nathan arrived just in time for Josiah to grab him and swing him up into his arms.

With the sudden loss of pull on his arm, Buck jerked and the older boy was able to partially break away, but Buck grabbed the back of his much too large jeans and held on.

Turning his mind back to his own fighting, crying bundle, Chris said, "Calm down. We aren't going to hurt you. We just want make sure you're alright..." After a few minutes in this vein, the boys calmed down enough for Chris to risk releasing them, but he nodded for his team mates to stay between them and the mouth of the alley. As the three boys huddled together farther back in the alley, Chris took his first good look at them.

The first boy they had found looked to be about ten or eleven with long scraggly light brown hair and large blue eyes. His ragged clothes were at least three sizes to large, his pants held up only by the rope knotted about his waist. His shoes were too small and he wore no coat, just a medium weight jacket, even thought the temperature was in the twenties. He was filthy from head to foot and very skinny.

The youngest looked to be about four with raggedly cut coarse black hair falling into his chocolate brown eyes. Again the ragged clothing was ill fitting, but he was wearing a heavy winter coat. The child sneezed suddenly, then wiped his nose on his sleeve, but all the while he didn't take his eyes off the faces of the men staring at him and his friends.

Chris turned his gaze to the last of the three boys, taking in a boy of about six or seven years, with curly chestnut hair and brilliant emerald green eyes. From his gaunt face, it was obvious that the boy did not eat properly. Chris thought the boy looked like he was about to faint. Too long pants almost hid the fact that the child wasn't wearing shoes, but only dark socks. Too large clothes hung on the gaunt figure, making the child seem even smaller. Again the boy had no coat, just a jacket. Fear still lurked in those expressive eyes, but it was tempered now with reason.

The three boys had maneuvered the youngest in the center, most defensible position. Taken all together, they presented a pathetic sight indeed. One that screamed one thing to the men looking at them. These children were abandoned.

Chris' rage, which had been simmering since he first realized there was a child in the alley, started rising again. He scowled at the pitiful sight, almost growling in anger.

The two larger boys, recognizing the expression overcoming the tall blonde man in front of them, started backing away from the perceived danger pushing the smallest boy behind them.

Buck caught Chris's arm and said quietly, "Calm down, Big Dog. You're scaring them." Stepping half way in front of Chris, Buck squatted down to be closer to their level. "Hi, I'm Buck. Who are you guys?"

The boys said nothing, only stared at the ATF agents guarding the exit of the alley.

"Come on now. It ain't polite to ignore people what's talkin' to ya'," Buck said.

A young voice piped up form behind the elder two boys. "We'rwe not supposed to talk to strangerws."

Buck's smile widen just a tad as he reached for his badge from his back pocket. "That's true enough, but I'm no stranger. I'm a policeman, see." He held out the badge so that all of the boys could see it, even the short fellow trying to see around his two protectors. "Besides, you know my name, shouldn't I know yours? I like to know what to call people I talk to."

"I guess so, I'm JD," JD peaked out around others again wanting to get a better look at the man he was talking to. The man looked funny with that fuzzy streak under his nose. He wondered how it had gotten there and what it felt like.

The other two boys looked at each other and nodded.

The tallest simply said, "Vin," while the other answered, "Ezra." The boy called Ezra kept looking from Buck to the men standing behind him.

Buck glanced over his shoulder and noted that Chris had gotten his facial expression under control. Shrugging, Buck figure the kid was just nervous. "What about your last names?"

Vin gave Buck a hard look before muttering, "Don't know yours."

"Well, you're a bright one, Wilmington. Buck Wilmington. This here's my team. Chris Larabee, my team leader, Josiah Sanchez, and Nathan Jackson."

Again Buck received one word answers from the older two boys. "Tanner," from Vin, and "Standish," from Ezra. But at first he received no answer from JD.

Deciding to push just a little, he asked, "How about you, little'en?"

"Dunne," the small boy said, stepping out from behind the other boys, though Vin kept a hand on his shoulder just incase he needed to pull him back.


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

Glancing at Chris, Nathan received a nod indicating he should go ahead and call Family Services now that they had names. Not wanting the boys to over hear his conversation, Nathan stepped out of the alley before pulling out his cell phone to place the call.

Meanwhile, Buck continued talking to the boys, trying to get as much information as possible. "What were you doing here?"

"We live over in the warehouse." Pointing, Vin indicated the warehouse that the ATF had just raided. "About a week ago, some men came and made us get out. We ain't found a new place yet."

Buck felt sick when he thought of these boys living alone in that warehouse. The building was infested with rats and very drafty. It would have afforded them very little protection against the cold, though it would have cut the wind and been a shelter against the snow and rain.

Taking another look at the boys lined up in front of him, Chris noticed Vin holding his left arm close to his body, guarding his ribs. "What's wrong, Vin? Are you hurt?"

Vin remained silent, but Ezra quickly explained, "The miscreants that summarily evicted us from our domicile were none too gentle about persuading us that it would be advantageous for us to vacate the premises post haste."

Blinking, Chris took a moment to sort through what the boy had said. "You mean they beat you up?"

"I believe that is what I just said," the exasperated boy grumbled.

Nathan started talking as soon as he stepped back into the alley. "I got a hold of Judge Travis and Harper at DFS. Family Services should be..." What ever else he had been going to say was cut off by the boys' outcry.

At the words 'Family Services,' Ezra came alive. Throwing himself at Chris, Ezra shouted, "Vin, JD, get out of here!" Startled though the agents were, Buck quickly picked up JD as Josiah grabbed Vin and held him. Seeing his companions subdued, Ezra fought to get away from Chris and help them.

"Whoa! What's wrong?" Chris said trying to calm the terrified boy in his arms. When Ezra turned his brilliant green eyes up at the hardened agent, they were once again filled with fear and tears.

Finally coming to the end of his strength, Ezra collapsed against Larabee's chest, sobbing. "Don't let them take Vin and JD. They'll split us up, and they'll hurt them. I promised I wouldn't let them get hurt. Please?" Ezra's racking sobs were interrupted by an equally racking cough. A cough that sounded like he was going to bring a lung up.

"Nathan!" Chris called as he put a hand to Ezra's forehead and felt the building fever.

Hurrying past the now quiet Vin and JD, Nathan reached Chris and the now limp Ezra. Quickly examining the child as best he could, Nathan said, "There's not much I can do for him here. We need to get them all to doctor."

"Chris, it would be faster just to take them ourselves. The suburban would fit us all and I have lights and siren onboard," Josiah offered, keeping a hand on Vin shoulder as he released him.

When Chris nodded, Nathan volunteered, "I'll call and cancel the DFS pick-up."

Hoisting the shaking child into a better position, Chris started walking back to where they had left Josiah's vehicle. Adam would have been about Vin's age now, and he had been thinking of Adam this entire time. Chris's anger had not lessened, it had only been shoved down and controlled. Even as he carried the small chestnut hair boy, he struggled to control his expression. He hoped he found the people responsible fore these boys being on the street. He wanted to have a long discussion with them about the proper care of children.

And he could guarantee that he would be the only one enjoying the discussion.

_

* * *

_

The ride to the hospital pasted quickly and quietly, aside from Ezra's coughing and the occasional sneeze from JD. Chris held on to Ezra the entire way there, overriding the boy's weak protests. The small boy had reached the end of his rope and did have the strength to give more than a token resistance.

After arriving at the hospital, Josiah quickly explained to the duty nurse what was going on, but when the nurse tried to take Ezra and Chris back, JD and Vin absolutely refused to be left behind.

"He's our brwotherw," JD insisted, stamping his foot for emphasis.

"Brother's don' go alone," Vin said quietly, his arms folded across his thin chest in finality.

Swallowing, Chris asked the nurse, "Are any of the rooms big enough for all of us?"

Looking from the dirty, ragged little boys to the four ATF agents, the nurse reviewed what rooms she had open before answering. "I have a room that would fit the boys and two of you, but I don't have one that would fit all of you, I'm sorry."

"Chris, you and Buck take the boys. Nathan and I'll be out in the waiting room." Josiah volunteered as Nathan nodded his agreement.

Chris smiled his thanks as he turned to follow the nurse, still carrying the small form of Ezra Standish. "Thanks, Josiah," Buck said as he took both of the other two boys by the hand and lead them after Chris.

The nurse led them into a small room off the main Emergency ward. "This room is usually split into two bays, but if we push the curtain back like this, we should be able to fit all of you in here." The nurse deftly pushed back the curtain, while waving Chris over to sit Ezra down on one of the beds.

"Why don't you two hop up here?" Buck asked Vin and JD as he patted the side of the other bed. Vin nodded, then turned and wrapped his hands around JD's waist and helped him up before Buck could say another word. Crawling up on the bed behind JD, he wrapped his arms protectively around the smaller boy and glared and Buck and Chris, daring them to say anything about it.

Buck just shook his head before looking back over the pitiful figure on the other bed. _Damn, looks like he might be here for a while. _As another coughing fit shook the small body, he winced. _That's got to hurt._

Another nurse bustled in after a few minutes and started taking the boys vital signs. It took some persuading to get Vin to let her take his temperature as he didn't want to open his mouth, and the automatic blood pressure cuff gave JD a small start, but it went fairly well. Ezra was too weak to object to any of it.

Half an hour later, Buck was getting antsy when the doctor finally arrived. Both Chris and Buck looked up when the door opened to admit a balding man in his late fifties.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Roberts, and who do we have here?" the man said cheerfully.

"This is Ezra Standish. That's Vin Tanner and JD Dunne," Chris answered indicating each of the boys as he went.

Moving around to stand between the beds, the doctor greeted each of the boys by name, but only JD answered him. Vin wasn't up to talking to anyone, and Ezra was coughing too hard to spare the breath.

"Well, sounds to me like you got a good case of bronchitis developing there, young man," Roberts said as he reached out to examine Ezra.

Ezra pulled away, shaking his head and whispering, "Vin and JD first."

Roberts flashed a charming smile and said, "I'll be looking at them too, but I need to check you out first."

Ezra still continued to pull away, and pointed over the doctor's shoulder even as he coughed. Chris rubbed his back trying to calm the coughing, but it took a while before Ezra could control it.

"Doc, it might be easier if you gave these two a fast once over. These guys can be a mite stubborn when they want," Buck suggested from where he sat rubbing his leg where Vin had kicked him in the struggle.

"Found that out already, have you?" the doctor chuckled as he turned to check the other boys quickly.

"Oh, yeah," Chris said wryly, keeping one hand on Ezra's back as he stood behind him and watched the doctor with Vin and JD.

Starting with the younger of the boys, Roberts returned the child's quiet, "Hello," with a bright smile. Grabbing a clean hospital gown, he started his examination of the boy by getting him out of the filthy clothing that swathed his body. Thankfully, he found nothing more seriously wrong than a few minor bruises and a skinned knee. He chattered with his young patient all through the ten minute examination about nothing in particular, though he did discover the boy was just over five, not four as the ATF agents had thought. Wrapping the cold child in a blanket, he reported his findings to the two anxious agents and turned his attention to the oldest boy.

Vin was a whole 'nother story. Vin didn't say a single word during the examination, even when the doctor palpated the bruising on his stomach and chest, he didn't make a sound. Again the doctor got the child into a clean hospital gown right away. The doctor clucked his tongue each time he found another bruise. When he asked where they had come from, Buck and Chris saw the quickly hidden flash of anger on the doctor's face when they explained that the boys had been driven out of the warehouse they had been living in.

"Well, Vin, you're worst injury is that sprained wrist. We'll send you up to get some x-rays just to be sure later and get you a brace for it. It should be good as new in a few weeks," Roberts explained to the boy, but Vin just nodded his head and didn't answer. Roberts handed a blanket to the older boy, and watched as he wrapped himself up in it.

As the doctor turned to examine his third patient, he said, "Would one of you gentlemen go ask the nurse to bring some glasses of juice for our young friends? I'll bet their thirsty, aren't you, boys?"

JD nodded enthusiastically as he agreed, while Vin simply nodded once. Ezra nodded too as the doctor started his examination.

After one look at his friend, Buck slipped out of the room quietly, leaving Chris to continued watching over their charges. He watched as the doctor gentle checked Ezra's eyes and ears, but they ran into a snag when he went to remove the boy's outer shirt.

As the doctor reached forward to start unbuttoning it, Ezra pulled away as best he could, muttering, "No."

"It's alright, Ezra," Chris reassured him. "The doctor just wants to make sure you're okay." Thinking the boy might accept him better, Chris reached for the buttons on his shirt only to have the boy shy away from him, too.

"Ezrwa don't like not having p...prwoperw clothes on, says it makes him rwememberw too much," JD piped up helpfully, even while Vin was trying to shush him.

"Remember too much what?" Chris asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Being hurwt," JD answered sadly.

Chris stood and moved in front of Ezra on the gurney. "Ezra, we really need you to take your shirt off. The doctor needs to see how badly you're hurt. Please?" Chris met the boy's direct gaze unflinchingly. He seemed to be searching his face for something, weighing whether the man standing there could be trusted. It saddened Chris greatly that the boy had had to learn how to do that at such a young age.

Chris felt relieved and strangely happy when Ezra nodded his head slightly, and whispered, "Very well." With trembling fingers, the small boy unbuttoned the dirty outer shirt. Layer by layer, Ezra removed the clothes that had protected him from the cold of the Denver streets. Layers that masked how desperately thin the child was. Chris saw anger flash across the doctor's face again when he when to help Ezra remove his pants and realized the boy didn't have any shoes on.

Buck and the nurse were just coming through the door when Ezra, sitting with his back to the door, removed his last shirt to sit on the gurney in just his underwear. Startled, he couldn't contain a softly muttered, "Oh, God!" while the nurse simply gasped quietly in shock. Chris looked up sharply to find Buck's gaze riveted to Ezra's back. While Robert's was busy guiding Ezra's arms into the sleeves of the much too large gown, Chris slipped around behind the gurney.

"Sonuva..." Chris whispered. Raising his voice to a normal level, he continued, "Dr. Roberts, I think you better see this." When Ezra started to turn, Chris put a hand lightly on his shoulder to hold him still. "It's alright, Ezra." Ezra stiffened slightly, but remained facing forward.

When the doctor saw what had grabbed the two men's attention, he also wanted to swear, though he contained it in deference to the children in the room. Waving the nurse toward the other boys, he bent to examine Ezra's back.

A back crisscrossed with scars.


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**

It took a lot of convincing, but the boys finally agreed to have full examinations. While Vin and Ezra were taken to x-ray, Buck went out to fill Josiah and Nathan in on what they had found so far, while Chris sat with JD.

As the boys got more comfortable with the doctor and nurses, Vin started answering a few questions for them, revealing his age at twelve and Ezra to be eight. But as soon as they asked about parents, he clammed up and wouldn't say a word.

Finally finished with the examinations, Dr. Roberts asked the nurse to bring some more juice and some sandwiches for the boys. When the food arrived, Chris, Buck, and the doctor watched with a sad heart as Ezra tried to give JD his sandwich. Chris was the first to react.

"Ezra," Chris said in a low rumbling voice, when Ezra jerked away from him, he wanted to kick himself for frightening the child. Smoothing out his tone, he tried again, "Ezra, eat your sandwich, if JD wants another, we will get it for him, all right?" Chris worked to keep the expression of his face from showing the emotions roiling through his heart.

"Yes sir, Mr. Larabee," Ezra said quietly, before picking up his sandwich and taking a small bite.

"Mr. Wilmington, would you be so kind as to retrieve your colleagues from the waiting room, I would like to speak to all of you?" Dr. Roberts asked. Buck nodded before heading out to the waiting room to retrieve Josiah and Nathan. When Roberts saw the three men walking down the hall back toward the examining room, he turned to the boys sitting on the gurneys and said, "Ezra, Vin, JD?" When they all had looked up and given him their attention, he continued, "I need to talk to Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Larabee. We'll be right across the hall if you need anything. Nurse Walters, here," he nodded to the nurse that had brought up the juice and sandwiches after assisting him with the examinations, "will stay in here with you the whole time, alright?"

The boys moved closer together, but nodded and continued to eat. Dr. Roberts stepped close to the nurse and whispered in her ear, before leading Larabee to a room directly across for the examination room's open door, waving for the other three ATF agents to follow them in.

"This is the Doctor's Lounge. We can talk privately in here. First, I'll summarize what we have so far, then I'll answer any questions you have," Dr. Roberts informed the men as he locked the door and motioned for them to take seats on the couch.

After all of them were seated, Roberts opened the files he had been holding and started. "JD Dunne, age five years. Height 3'4"; Weight 38 lbs. Parents unknown. Injures: minor bruising, skinned left knee. There was evidence of old bruising on his back and legs, but nothing that couldn't reasonably come from children's play. He seems to be developing a slight cold. He's slightly underweight and dehydrated. All in all, he's healthy, just needs some good nutrition. I'd like to keep him over night for observation." Shuffling that folder to the bottom he opened the next folder.

"Vin Tanner, age twelve years. Height 5'0"; Weight 98 lbs. Parents unknown. Injuries: sprained left wrist, considerable bruising of the left ribcage and left abdomen, but no evidence of internal problems. Moderate bruising on the rest of his chest and abdomen, back and legs. Minor bruising arms and face with a few cuts and abrasions. There is evidence of possible past abuse up to and including broken bones. The x-ray of his arm revealed calcification on both the radius and the ulna, indicating healed breaks of both bones. The chest x-ray showed similar areas on three ribs on the right side. Again he is underweight and dehydrated, but he is also borderline malnourished. Good food and rest for a couple of weeks and he'll be fine too. Again, I'll keep him over night, but he should be fine to leave after that." Again he shuffled the folder to the back and opened the last one.

Heaving a sigh he started reciting the information in the folder, trying to distance himself from it. "Ezra Standish, age eight years. Height 3'10"; Weight 40 lbs. Parents unknown. Injuries: moderate bruising of the chest, abdomen, back, and legs. Minor bruising of the arms and face. Not as severe as Tanner's, but still significant. Minor cuts and scrapes. Extensive evidence of abuse. Scars from beatings and what appear to be cigarette burns on his back. Based on the extensiveness of the scarring, I would say that Standish has been abused since sometime before his fourth birthday. I ordered a full skeletal series and counted at least seven areas of calcification indicating previous breaks. He appears also to have developed a trick shoulder into the bargain." The doctor practically growled the last sentence.

When the four men simply looked at him with confused expressions, he explained, "It's a slang term for a shoulder that dislocates easily after having been dislocated several times. For him to have developed on this young..." the doctor trailed off as he saw understand come to the eyes of the ATF agents with anger following close on its heels. "It may right itself as he gets older, as long as he doesn't continue to injure it, but there are no guarantees on that. Standish is should weight a good eight to ten pounds more. He's severely dehydrated and malnourished. He has a good case of bronchitis going, but x-rays ruled out pneumonia. He should be here for several days, to ensure that the bronchitis doesn't develop into pneumonia and to start dealing with the malnutrition and dehydration."

"Why is Standish so run down? It sounded like the others are doing pretty good," Josiah asked.

"This is just a guess, but from what Mr. Larabee, Mr. Wilmington, and I observed before we left the room, I'd say Standish has been starving himself for the benefit of the others. I had sandwiches brought in for them, and he tried to give his to little JD Dunne."

"Jesus Christ," Nathan muttered as he absorbed the last. Clearing his throat, he voiced the question had preyed on his mind since the doctor started listing the abuse the chestnut-hair boy had suffered. "Uh, Doctor, was there any evidence of sexual abuse on any of the boys?"

"No, thank god," he said fervently.

"Amen to that," Josiah agreed while the others nodded.

"Well, gentlemen, that's what I know, now the question seems to be what's going to happen to them after they get out of here? Should I assume that Family Services is going to take over?"

"No, DFS will not be taking over their cases, at least not yet," Chris stated emphatically. "We almost had a war on our hands when we mentioned Family Services earlier. Those boys were absolutely terrified of them. I'm not sure which Ezra was more afraid of, being hurt or being separated from Vin and JD."

"So, what are you going to do?" Dr. Roberts asked.

"After we get them settled in here for the night, I'm going to head back to the office and see if I can find out who they are. After that, I'm going to arrange with DFS for them to stay with me, for a while at least. I'm still on the fostering books."

"Chris, are you sure?" Buck asked gently. He knew some of what had to be going through Larabee's mind every time he looked at those boys.

"I'm sure, Buck," Chris said.

"You and your wife will have your hands full..." Roberts started.

Chris broke in before he could go any farther. "I'm not married," he managed through gritted teeth, fighting the memories that were stirred, both by the situation and the doctor's words. "My wife was killed a little over five years ago."

"My apologies, Mr. Larabee, I did not mean to bring up a painful subject, but you are going to need help if you plan on going through with this. Those boys are going to need someone with them constantly, and until you can get them into schools, with you working, that would be nigh on to impossible."

"I have been living out at the ranch for the last couple of months since my apartment burned down. I hadn't gotten 'round to looking for a new place. Between Me, Mz. Nettie, and Chris, we can keep an eye on those boys," Buck informed the doctor.

"Who is Miss Nettie?" Roberts asked.

"Mrs. Nettie Wells is a retired school teacher that lives next door to me. She inherited the land from her late husband and lives there with her granddaughter Casey. Casey turned six in November, so she'll make JD good company. Miss Nettie takes care of the animals when I get tied up in town and can't get back in time for chores. She loves children, and probably wouldn't mind taking care of the boys once in a while. I believe she even did some fostering in her younger days," Chris told him.

Looking at Josiah questioningly, Nathan received an affirmative nod, before turning to Chris and offering, "Chris, We'd be willing to help out to, if you need it."

"Thanks, guys," Chris said smiling faintly at the other members of his team. He knew he would be able to count on these men. In the six months since he had put the team together, Chris had come to find that he didn't get hit by everything so hard.

"That should work, Mr. Larabee. The boys seem to you and your team, but there might be trouble finding a permanent placement that will keep all three of them together. If that fight we had with Dunne when Tanner and Standish went to x-ray is any indication, it won't be easy to split them up."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Doctor,"Chris said as he stood up to shake hands with him. "Let's go get the boys settled in for the night and head back in to the office. While Buck and I get the boys settled, Josiah, I want you to call Travis and tell him what's going on. He doesn't like surprises much. Nathan, call DFS back and tell them that I'll be calling them later to set things up; hopefully we'll have some more information for them later." The five men filed out of the room, three headed for the examination room across the hall, and two for the waiting room where they could use their cell phones.

Chris, Buck, and the doctor entered the treatment to find the boys still sitting quietly on the gurneys. Vin and JD had finished their sandwiches and were drinking from their small plastic cups of juice, but Ezra still had half of his sandwich to go.

"Ezra, aren't you going to eat any more?" Chris asked as he moved to the boy's side.

"I am not longer hungry, Mr. Larabee. I shall endeavor to consume more of it at a later time." Ezra coughed some more, but it didn't sound quite as bad as before to Larabee.

Chris was about to protest, but the doctor caught his eye and shook his head no. Frowning, Chris remained quiet as the doctor got the boys' attention.

"Boys, we're going to taking you up stairs soon, and get you into bed, okay?" Roberts avoided mention anything other than immediate plans on purpose. The less the boys had to worry about the better.

"'Kay, but we stay together, right?" Vin asserted.

"That's right," Roberts agreed. "Mr. Larabee and Mr. Wilmington, why don't you sit with the boys while I go get every thing set up for them upstairs." When they agreed he walked toward the door, but stopped to whisper in Chris's ear. "When a person is as badly underfed as Standish, their stomachs aren't able to hold what they normally would. If he forces himself to eat, he could make himself sick, that's why I didn't push it. He'll likely be hungry again in an hour, but it's better that him being sick."

Chris's eyes widened as he nodded that he that understood and wouldn't push Ezra to finish the sandwich. The doctor smiled and lightly clasped Larabee's shoulder. If this worked out, those boys would have a good home. Larabee had all the makings of being a fine parent, and Roberts had seen the depth of his emotions for the boys on his face. Larabee wanted to keep those boys, where he had admitted it to himself or not.

* * *

Two hours later, Chris, Buck, Josiah, and Nathan had cleared up their paperwork from the earlier bust, and were hard at work tracking down anything they could on their three charges.

Vin Tanner's files were fairly easy to find. Vincent James Tanner of Texas had been orphaned at the age of five and sent to live with his paternal grandfather in Denver. When the old man died a year later, he had been placed in the first of a series of foster families, but he kept running away. Two of them, including his last, had since been investigated for and convicted of child abuse, but by the time that came to light, Vin had disappeared.

Approximately nineteen months ago, Vin Tanner vanished in his way home from school. He had simply gotten off the bus at a different bus stop, telling the driver that he was going to go to a friend's house. The driver had taken a shine to the quiet boy, and been happy that he had been able to make friends. She had been distraught when she was told that the boy had disappeared.

JD Dunne was a little harder, but they finally tracked down his birth certificate and an enrollment at a day care. Jonathan David Dunne was the son of an unmarried young woman that had worked as a maid at one of the larger houses in Denver. She had been found stabbed to death six months ago after being mugged and robbed. Apparently, the boy had run in the struggle and the others found him. Nathan finally dug up a six month old missing persons report. Apparently, the head of the daycare, a conscientious sort, had informed the police of the boy's existence when she read of his mother's death in the paper. It helped that she had also provided them with a picture of the boy.

Ezra Standish remained an enigma however. They couldn't find anything on the boy at all, no birth certificate, no records of any type. They couldn't even prove that that was his name. Buck had salvaged some of the cups the boys had used to get their fingerprints, but that had come up a blank too.

Not withstanding their lack of information found for Standish, Chris continued to set things up so that the boys would be in his care when they were released form the hospital. When Nettie Wells heard about what he had planned, she volunteered before he got the chance to ask about help. She was already making plans about how to care for the boys before she hung up the phone. Chris smiled as he looked at the phone in his hands; he knew he could count on her.

Breaking the connection, Chris redialed and started working his way through the bureaucracy at the DFS to get the boys released into his custody. It took quite a bit of arguing and talking, Chris came within a hairs breadth of blowing his temper twice, but he finally managed to get everything set up. All he had to do was swing by their office with the boys the next day to sign the papers. They insisted that he bring Vin Tanner and JD Dunne with him when he came in, but would allow him to gain custody of Ezra with out him present since he would be in the hospital for a few days yet.

Sighing, Chris finally hung up the phone. Looking down at the pages of notes he had taken during all of the discussions, it finally hit him that he was going to be caring for three boys that he knew practically nothing about. _Dear god, what am I thinking? _Chris thought. _These boys need a family that can take care of them, not a grumpy SOB with a black hole for a soul!_

Chris looked up when the door to his office was opened and Buck entered. "Hey, Chris, ya' get it set up?"

"Yeah," he replied gruffly fiddling with the pen in his hands.

Buck smiled compassionately. "It's startin' to hit ya', ain't it? You've taken on quite a job, Pard, but remember ya' ain't alone in this. Me'n Josiah'n Nathan'n Mz Nettie are all going ta be right along side you and those boys."

"Yeah, but will it be enough, Buck? Those boys have suffered too much as it is. They need a family to care for them, not..." Chris started, but Buck cut him off before he could get a good head of steam.

"They will have a family, Chris. You, Me, Nathan, Josiah, and Mz Nettie will make 'em a good family," Buck asserted.

Chris looked over at his old friend with a speculative gleam in his eye. "You're talkin' like you expect to keep them."

Buck grinned. "Chris, whether you're admittin' it to yourself or not, you want those boys. You're puttin' a lot into this."

Chris sighed again, feeling every one of his thirty-eight years and a few extra. "I'm letting the boys stay with me until DFS can find a family to take them all. It'll only be for a few weeks at the most." Standing he grabbed his coat and prepared to leave the office.

Buck just continued to grin. "Keep tellin' yourself that, Big Dog. When you start believing it, maybe then you can convince me."

When Chris threw a smoldering glare at him, Buck laughed out loud. Chris sometimes forgot that Buck had been watching him for the last five years. Since the fire, Chris had just drifted through the days, sometimes getting drunk, sometimes not caring what went on around him at all. He did his job, but never really got involved in anything. Since the team had formed, Chris had started getting involved in life again, inviting the guys out to the ranch to watch ballgames, showing up for poker night at Josiah or Nathan's place on the odd Friday.

But today, Chris had jumped in with both feet, getting in the middle of the situation, and working with his old determination to right what had gone wrong. Buck knew that Chris had to have been reminded of Adam today, but instead of running the other way and refusing to get involved, as he would have six months ago; Chris had taken control and started looking for answers.

Buck smiled as he followed his old friend out of the office. His Chris was on the way back; he only hoped nothing happened to mess this up, because he didn't think he would be able to hold Chris together a second time.


	4. Part 4

**Part 4**

The next morning found Chris up early to deal with morning chores. As he finished feeding and watering the horses, Chris thought about the arrangements that had kept them up late the night before.

It had taken him and Buck hours to clean out the other two bedrooms and set up the beds for the boys, a set of twin/full bunks in one room and a twin in the other room. Considering the fear the boys had of being separated, Chris wondered if they shouldn't use the larger room and put them all in there together, at least at first. Chris and Buck had carefully pulled out the box of toys that had been packed away after Adam and Sarah's deaths. Chris was glad that Buck hadn't pushed him about bring them out and had waited for him to take the initiative. It had been hard enough to set them out with out being pushed to do it.

As he walked back to his room to change, he looked into the two rooms. They were still pretty bare, just basic furniture and a few toys scattered around, but it would be much better than what the boys had been living with recently. Glancing at the dresser on one room, Chris abruptly realized that he was going to have to stop and buy some clothes for them. Almost nothing of what they had been wearing would be salvageable.

Shrugging, he continued with his morning routine. It shouldn't be that difficult, he remembered shopping for Adam's clothes, how hard could it be?

_

* * *

_

Chris had just finished setting two plates of eggs and bacon on the table when a somewhat rumpled, but dressed for the day Buck ambled down the stairs with a sleepy, "Morning, Chris," interrupted by a yawn.

Chris grinned, then quickly hid it behind his coffee mug. Buck looked like he could hardly keep his eyes open, but then he usually looked like that first thing in the morning. After Buck had finished his breakfast and two cups of coffee, he was beginning to look a little more human and definitely more alert.

"So, Pard, What's gone down today?" Buck asked as he sat back in his chair with his third cup of coffee. It amazed Chris that while he always made the coffee in the morning, he never got more that two cups. If he wanted anymore than that, he had to make a second pot.

Shrugging off that random thought, Chris said, "I called Travis last night and he gave me a couple of days to get Vin and JD settled in. He wasn't real happy about it, but he didn't fight too hard. We're going to have to figure out some type of schedule to the next week or so. Unless I missed something yesterday, those boys are going to want to be over at the hospital with Ezra everyday."

"Seems likely. All those boys have been able to depend for a long time is each other, they ain't gonna trust anyone yet. The boys and I can deal with the office without you for a few days. Ain't much to do but pape..." Whatever else Buck was going to say was cut off by the ringing of the doorbell. "You expecting any one, Big Dog?" Buck asked as both men rose and went to answer the door.

"No," Chris said as he opened to the door to reveal his next door neighbor. "Nettie! I wasn't expecting you this morning. I was going to call you after I picked up the boys."

"Figured that, Chris," Nettie said crisply as she walked passed him to stand in the living room. "But we need to figure out some sort of plan for dealing with these boys of yours before they get here, not after. Better for them and better for you. Good morning, Buck."

Chris was a little shell shocked by Nettie's take charge attitude, but Buck just grinned. "Morning, Mz Nettie." Checking his watch, Buck realized that he needed to get moving if he was going to get to the office on time. "Well, I've got to get goin'. Some of us don't got the day off." The glare Chris threw at his fazed him not one whit as he said his good-byes and strode out the door, leaving Chris and the preparations for the boys in Nettie's capable hands.

"Well, young man, where do we start?" Nettie asked after she hung up her coat and set her bag down on the end of the couch.

"Um, Buck and I got the boys' rooms ready last night," Chris began as he lead the way upstairs and down the hall. Pointing to the two rooms, Chris continued, "We pulled out some of Adam's old things. It's still a bit bare, but much better than it was."

Nettie nodded in approval as she surveyed the two rooms silently. "This is good. Let the boys pick out what they like, it'll give them the idea that what they think and like matters."

Chris cleared his throat uncomfortably, before leading her back downstairs. "We'll see. If they come up with a family that will take them all, they may not be here that long. I'm just letting them stay here until DFS can find a good family for them."

Nettie smile secretively at him, before replying, "That's good, Chris, and you doing a good thing by takin' those boys in, but you've got to consider other things, too."

Chris didn't verbally answer, just cocked his head questioningly at her.

"What kinds of food do you have in this house, Chris?" Nettie asked as she headed for the kitchen at the back of the house. "You've got school lunches to worry about soon. You're going to have to get those boys registered and in school as soon as you can. They're going to need the structure and dependable schedule." Nettie started opening cabinet doors, checking their contents, before looking at Chris over her shoulder when he didn't answer.

"I've got lunch meat to make sandwiches." Chris offered. What kinds of things did one put in a boy's school lunch? Sarah had always taken care of that while he did morning chores. He remembered that they always seemed to be running out of those little juice boxes, and that was with only one. Now he had three!

"Do you have any breakfast cereal? Small packets of cheese crackers are good for lunches. Celery and carrot sticks too. Usually something small and sweet for desert. Macaroni and cheese. Peanut butter is a must." Nettie rambled as she continued to investigate cupboards. Abruptly she stopped and looked up at the slightly overwhelmed expression on Chris's face.

Smiling, she suggested, "Why don't I go shopping this afternoon while you get the boys and we can talk about this later?"

Chris heaved a sigh of relief, and quirk a half smile at the efficient older lady. "That'd be great, Nettie. What else?"

"That needs to be out of sight and out of reach," Nettie said bluntly, pointing to a not-so-innocent glass bottle sitting on the counter.

Chris grabbed that bottle and two others that were in the cupboard, before carrying them into the laundry room and stashing them on the highest shelf and closed the door on them. This time he didn't bother with a question and just followed her back to the living room and waited as she looked around. He knew she had spotted something else when her eyebrows made a jump toward her hairline. He moved around the end of the couch to get a better look at the item she was picking up from the floor beside the fireplace hearth. When he finally recognized it, he flushed bright red. It was some of Buck's....um, adult reading.

Nettie gave Chris a stern look, before commenting, "Unless you want to be answering some very embarrassing questions, I'd suggesting keeping this well hidden."

Chris kept his face down as he grabbed a trash bag and deposited the magazine. "Would you help me look for any more of ...**_that_** around the house?"

Nettie nodded in approval as she followed him from room to room gathering any magazines, or other things of similar type, into the bag. By the time they were done the bag was about half full. Chris couldn't believe how much of the stuff was just sitting in different places around the house. Tying it shut, Chris pondered the problem of stashing it someplace or just trashing it. It was Buck stuff, but he wasn't about to have it in the house with three young boys running around. He finally decided to trash it. He didn't think Buck would complain all that loudly.

When they finished Chris checked his watch, and commented, "I've got about an hour and a half before I'm supposed to be at the hospital, and I need to stop at Wal-Mart on the way. Is there any thing else we need to cover before I leave?"

Nettie's face softened as she looked at the nervous man. "You're doing fine, Chris. It's a big adjustment for you to suddenly have little children in the house again. You just have to think carefully about what they hear and see. Also I would suggest laying down a few rules first thing. Don't get nitpicky, but rules about where the boys can and cannot go, things they should and shouldn't do. Privacy may be at a premium. And be firm, Chris, but temper it with understanding. Just remember these are children, expect them to act like children at times." Nettie smiled at the ATF Team leader as she gathered her bag and donned her coat. Laying her hand on his arm she reassured him one last time, "You'll be fine. I'll stop back by this afternoon with the groceries. It would probably be best if we held of meeting the boys to tomorrow morning." With that she slipped out the door and was on her way.

Chris stood stock still at the front door for several minutes after she left, stunned at the force of nature that had whirled through the house. Shaking his head he checked to make sure he had his wallet and keys, before walking out to his truck and heading into town. That was Mz Nettie alright, a force to be reckoned with, he had always know that. It was just that this was the first time it had been pointed at him!

_

* * *

_

Chris pulled into the parking lot of Wal-Mart and silently thanked God that he had gotten the extended cab on the truck.

Come to think of it, JD just barely made the requirements to get out of a car seat. It really surprised him how small JD and Ezra were, and Vin looked like he was just hitting his growth spurt. Chris shook his head as he grabbed a cart and headed for the boys clothing.

'_How hard can it be'? You're a fool, Larabee! _Chris berated himself as he looked around in confusion. Yes, he had shopped for Adam's clothes before, but he had always known what sizes he was looking for. He knew he should only get something simply right now and let the boys pick out something they like later, but looking at the racks of hanging clothing, he was having trouble figuring out where to start.

_Okay, Larabee, start with the basics. _Thus Chris started with the most basic, and necessary, part of a child's wardrobe...underwear. Picking up packages, Chris compared what the doctor had told them about first Vin, then JD, and finally Ezra's height and weight to find the sizes he needed. Remembering what the doctor had said about Ezra needing to gain weight he adjusted accordingly.

Once he finished, he took his new found knowledge of sizes and moved to the next level, but there seemed to be one system of sizing for underwear and an entirely different one for the rest of children's clothing.

Chris's frustration caused him to practically growl as he hung up yet another shirt having no idea if it would fit any of the boys. He really didn't want to have to go size be size until he found ones that he thought would fit.

An elderly lady in an employee's blue smock saw his frustration and came over to lend a head. "Can I help you, sir?"

Swallowing back his frustration, Chris smoothed his expression. "I need clothing for three boys, but I don't know what sizes." Seeing the confusion on her face, he elaborated further. "I'm fostering them, but the clothes they were wearing when they were found were in deplorable shape. After they are released from the hospital, I'll bring them over to pick out their own, but they need something to wear now."

Nodding her head in understanding, she moved closer to Chris's cart and asked, "Did you have anything in particular in mind for now?"

"Just basics, a single outfit a piece, coats, and shoes." Chris replied.

"Alright, for now, I'd suggest getting sets of sweats. They're warm, practical, and you'll have more leeway in the sizing." Chris released some of the tension in his muscles as he followed her to the racks of folded sweats.

"About what size are the boys?" the lady asked.

"Well, Vin's twelve. He's about 5' tall, very slender, though. The doctor said he needs to put on a little weight. Ezra's eight. About 4' and really skinny at the moment. The doctor ain't even going to let him out of the hospital until he starts gaining weight. JD's five. Stands 3'4" again he's slender, but not as underfed as Ezra."

The matronly woman that was assisting Chris made sympathetic noises as she helped him pick out sets of clothes for each of the boys. After they had regular clothes, she led him to a rack of heavy winter coats that were on sale and together the picked out three well insulated functional hooded coats. Nothing fancy, but they would be warm. Shoes, however, turned out to be almost worse than clothes, for he had paid no attention to the size of the boys' feet the day before.

Heavy winter socks were easy to find, but shoes... Chris was finally settled on inexpensive tennis shoes in average sizes. When they came in later, he would get them some better ones. She assured him that he could return them if they were the wrong sizes.

As they were walking back toward the front of the store so that he could check out, she suddenly stopped and stepped toward a rack and began picking things off of it. When she returned she added three pares of knit gloves and three scarves to the buggy. Chris nodded in approval. He hadn't thought of those.

Arriving at the check out, thanked her for all her help and commented that he would probable be back with JD and Vin sometime that afternoon.

"What about Ezra?" she asked in concern.

Chris shook his head, "The Doc is not going to be releasing him for a few days al least. He's come down with a pretty severe case of bronchitis and his system is run down. They want to keep him in the hospital so that is doesn't turn into pneumonia."

"Oh, dear. Well, I hope everything turns out alright for them." With a smile the helpful lady went on her way as Chris silently echoed her last thought. _So do I, ma'am. I hope everything turns out alright for them too._

_

* * *

_

Chris arrived at the hospital a little after nine. He spoke quickly with the nurse at the desk, who informed him that Dr. Roberts was on his way to sign JD and Vin out.

Stepping to the door of the room the three boys had shared, Chris entered quietly. Standing just inside the door, he watched the three boys swathed in thin cotton hospital gowns sitting on the bed farthest from the door coloring pictures on of the rolling tables.

They sat close together with Ezra sandwiched between Vin and JD. As Chris watched, Ezra began coughing harshly. Before he could start moving forward to help him, Vin gathered Ezra close, being very careful of the IV in his arm, and Ezra muffled the strident sound against his friend's chest. JD tried to comfort his sick friend as best he could by rubbing Ezra's back.

When Ezra stopped coughing, he didn't immediately move away from Vin, but paused with his head cradled against the old boy as he regained his breath. Eventually, Ezra patted Vin's arm and was released to pick up the crayon he had been using.

Chris watched as they all turned back to their coloring. Both JD and Vin had said they were brothers, and from what he had just seen, they were. Ezra, who had flinched and jerked every time an adult touched him, had accepted the comfort and contact from Vin and JD as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Chris musing was cut off when Vin abruptly looked up and caught his eye. Chris didn't move as Vin assessed the intruder in their room with shuttered blue eyes. When Ezra looked up a moment later, he was treated to the say treatment from a piercing emerald gaze. From JD, however, he received a loud, "Mr. Chrwis!" _At least one of them is happy to see me,_ Chris thought wryly.

"Good Morning, boys. Did you sleep well last night?"

Ezra's quiet, "Yes, sir," JD's chipper "Yep," and Vin's silent nod were his answers.

"Has the doctor been in this morning?" Chris asked.

This time the all shook their heads, only JD gave a verbal reply of, "Nuh-uh."

"The nurse told me that he should be here soon. When he gets here we need to talk for a bit, alright?" Chris said. One thing he did remember from when Adam was alive. Boys react a whole lot better if things are couched as requests as apposed to order. Orders just make them want to dig in their heels and do something else.

The boys again nodded their understanding, with JD's cheerful, "Sure," and went back to their coloring. Chris set the plastic bags he had brought in with him on one of the other beds and snagged one of the chairs to wait for the doctor.

As he watched the Chris was fascinated by the way the seemed to communicate with out talking. Vin would glance at Ezra then the crayon in his hand, without seeming to notice, Ezra would finish with it and immediately hand it to Vin. Ezra glanced past Vin to another that was out of his reach; without him saying a word, Vin picked it up and handed it across to Ezra. JD laid down the crayon he was working with, and Ezra immediately handed him a crayon that had been sitting on the edge of the table in front of him. Chris saw no clue at all how Ezra knew he wanted it, but JD immediately smiled and started coloring again.

Chris became so focused watching them that he jumped when Dr. Roberts pushed through the door.


	5. Part 5

**Part 5**

"Good Morning," Dr. Roberts greeted as he stepped into the room.

Chris covered his discomfiture at the doctor's entrance by grunting a reply that could have been jus about anything, but the doctor good naturedly shrugged and moved toward the boys.

True to form, JD piped up with a chipper greeting, while his two brothers remained silenbt for the most part.

"How are you feeling this morning, boys?" Roberts asked next, not really expect much in the way of answers. "The nurses told me you guys slept good last night."

JD returned, "Grweat."

Vin settled for a quiet, "Fine."

Ezra feeling a little more verbose this morning, replied, "I am feeling much improved this morning, sir." However he was immediately contradicted by a coughing spasm. Chris automatically reached out to the child, but Vin and JD got there before he did and held Ezra as he rode out the fit. When it was over he noticed that while they loosened their hold, they didn't totally release him. Even now they were presenting a united front. Chris mentally groaned, it was going be difficult to convince them that Ezra was going to have to stay in the hospital when Vin and JD went home. Although, he mused, they seemed highly intelligent; as long as their hearts didn't totally overrule their heads, they would understand.

"Glad to hear your feeling better, but is sounds like you've still got a ways to go before you're all healed up, Ezra. How 'bout I have a closer look at how your doing?" With that Dr. Roberts proceeded to check each of the boys over to make sure nothing had developed over night. When he was finished he waved at Chris to come over and sat down on the chair beside the bed.

Looking at the doctor, Chris received a nod of encouragement. Sighing, he started to explain to the boys that he had set up with the Family Services people for the boys to stay with him until they could find a home for all of them.

Finishing his explanation he leaned back in the chair and waited for their reactions. Ezra looked openly skeptical, while Vin seemed to be taking him at his word. JD was flat out excited about the possibility of living with him and Buck.

"Might I enquire as to the location of you domicile, Mr. Larabee?" Ezra asked.

It still gave Chris a turn, hearing the verbose language that came from such a small body, but Ezra understood the meaning of the words he used. Mentally shrugging, he answered, "I have a small ranch outside the city."

"A rweal rwanch? With horwses and everwything?" JD cried cheerfully, beaming at him.

It was impossible not to smile back at the energetic five-year-old. Grinning, Chris said, "Yep, with horses and all."

"Can we rwide your horwses?" JD pleaded.

Chuckling, Chris replied, "We'll see. I don't think it would be a problem."

Roberts watched the interaction of the ATF agent with his three new charges, and liked what he saw. Larabee liked children, that was plain to see. And they seemed to instinctively like and trust him. These three boys had ever reason to be suspicious, yet they were readily agreeing to live with a man that they had only met the day before.

Smiling, he broke into the conversation, "So you boys don't mind the idea."

Vin answered him this time, "Long as we stay together."

Mentally crossing his fingers, the doctor broke the bad news, "All of you will being living with Mr. Larabee eventually, but Ezra will have to stay here for a couple of days. You and JD can go today."

Chris understood the fear that blossomed in Vin's eyes, but surprised at the tears that welled up in JD's eyes.

As soon as the doctor mentioned Ezra staying at the hospital, Ezra practically crawled into Vin's lap and clung to him. Vin immediately wrapped his arms around the trembling bundle in his lap, hissing, "Ezra stays with us, you ain't takin' him away. He's our brother, and brothers don't go alone!" Both Chris and Dr. Roberts stood and tried to calm the frightened boys. Ezra was well on his way to hyperventilating, and JD was plastered to Vin side, tears streaming down his face.

"Vin," Chris finally said when the boys had calmed somewhat, "Ezra's sick, and he needs to stay in the hospital so they can take care of him. I would know what to do if we took him home and he started to get more sick."

"What's wrong," Vin asked. "He just has a cough, like he did last year." Chris noted the rising panic levels in the twelve-year-old, even as his mind filed away the fact that Vin and Ezra had been together for more than a year.

Trying to step the terror in his patients eyes, Dr. Roberts replied, "He has a bad case of bronchitis complicated by malnutrition and dehydration. That means…"

Cutting him off, Vin said softly, "I know what that means. Damn it, Ez, I tol' you you needed to eat more."

"I couldn't let JD go hungry, Vin," Ezra mumbled from his place with his face pressed against Vin's chest.

"Did givin' me histh food make Ezrwa sthick?" the voice that came room JD was absolutely forlorn, and the stress and fear was making his slight lisp decidedly worse.

"No, not really, JD. It might have made it just a little bit worse, but he was sick anyway," Roberts reassured him quickly. Glancing back at the older two boys, he caught Vin's eye and received a small nod of thanks. Smiling, he tried again to explain to the boys what was happening; Vin and JD were to leave today, and Ezra in a couple of days, but they would all end up at Larabee's ranch.

"Why cain't we stay here with Ez until he can come too?" Vin demanded.

"Because the hospital needs the beds for other kids that are sick or hurt," Roberts explained evenly.

"But what if she comes back and tries to hurt him again?" JD whimpered.

Chris jerked in surprise, he hadn't expected this. "Who are you talking about , JD?" If someone was after the boy it might explain things, like the possible phony name he had given them. When JD didn't say anything more, Chris continued, "JD, I need to know who your talking about. I can't protect him against her if I don't know who she is." Chris prayed that the boys trusted him enough to tell him. If they were in danger, he wanted to know so that he could be ready.

Silently Chris and Dr. Roberts watched as Vin looked down at Ezra. When he nodded once, Vin heaved a shuddering breath and replied, "It's Maude."

"Maude?" Dr. Roberts asked.

The muffled, "My mother," that returned was so sad and despairing that Chris wanted to strangle the woman even though he had never met her. Turning to the doctor, he saw is own anger mirrored there. That a mother could intentionally harm her own child was so alien a concept they simply could not fathom it.

Chris cleared his throat before asking, just to make sure they were understanding the situation properly, "Ezra, is she the one that hurt you?"

Ezra nodded then continued quietly, "When Daddy died they sent me out here to live with her. She didn't want me, but they gave me to her anyway. She likes perfect things, that why she left Daddy when she found out he was sick. I couldn't be perfect for her, so she left me here. I heard her say one time that maybe when I was grown up some she would have a use for me." Tears form in his eyes as he whispered, "She's going to come back for me, but I don't want to go. Please, don't make me go back." He finally started crying softly, clutching at Vin.

"Don't worry, Ezra, We're not going to make you go back." Chris assured him as stood and rubbed his back until he quieted and relaxed.

Roberts watched Ezra respond to the touch of the tall blond. He could see for himself that Chris Larabee was a dangerous man, but not to the children. He firmly believed that Chris would make an excellent guardian and father. "Ezra, Mr. Larabee is going to be your guardian, he can say who come is in here and who doesn't."

"That's right," Chris agreed firmly, "and from now unless I say they can come in, only the nurses and doctors and my team can come see you, alright? You met them last night. They're a strange bunch, but they're good men."

Ezra nodded and gave a quiet, "Okay."

Thinking of one more thing that might make them feel better, he added, "And I'll make sure that JD and Vin get into see you every day." That earned him smiles from all three of the boys.

7>>>

Chris was still stewing over the revelations in Ezra's hospital room when he drew up in front of the Denver Family Services Center. Turning to the two boys in the truck he cleared his throat.

"Vin, JD? We have to go in here and talk to someone." At the suspicious looks he received, Chris hurried on. "The social worker just wants to talk to you and see how you doing and if she can help in anyway. That's all," he reassured them, "Then we can go shopping and out to the ranch, alright?" When the boys reluctantly nodded, Chris breathed a sigh of relief; the last thing they needed was for one of the boys to have a temper tantrum before they even got in the building. Getting out of the truck, Chris circled the vehicle and helped JD down from the high seat while Vin got out of the back. Keeping hold of JD hand, Chris lead them into the building.

Walking beside Chris, Vin's mind was spinning. What if they wouldn't let them leave? He had promised Ezra that he wouldn't let Family Services take JD and he planned on keeping that promise. Vin had seen the fear in Ezra's eyes and even though he didn't know what had happened to Ezra, but he figured it must have been even worse than the foster homes he had been in.

Chris said they were just going to talk to someone, and he wanted to believe that. The tall blonde man seemed trust worthy, but adults were tricky sometimes, and didn't always tell the truth, even to each other. These people here could have lied to Chris to get him to bring them here, or something.

Vin carefully noted the presence of exit doors and corridors, and Chris directed them to the office of the social worker they had been assigned. He wasn't going to get stuck here if they had tricked Chris. He'd get JD out, then they'd get Ezra from the hospital. They were brothers and brothers stick together, Vin vowed silently. Squaring his shoulders, Vin followed Chris into the appropriate office with all the solemnity of a man facing the hangman.

7>>>

Two hours later, Chris lead the boys out of the building he had mentally dubbed a "Bureaucratic House of Horrors." Two hours of paperwork and answering the same questions he had answered over the phone the night before. But at least it was over the could head over to Wal-Mart for shopping.

Tucking JD into the front seat, Chris glanced into the back of the cab to see Vin had already buckled himself in and was looking out the window. He had noticed the boy marking the exits in his mind, noting escape routes. He had no doubt that if something had gone wrong and the boys had been taken from him, Vin would have had them out of the building and back on their own in no time at all.

When they arrived at the store, Chris received another surprise. The woman that had helped him earlier had spoken with her supervisor, who had spoken with his supervisor, and so on, until the store employees themselves decided to take up donations for the boys. In the four hours he had been gone they had collected over four hundred dollars. At first Chris tried to refuse, but store manager insisted, saying that if he wanted he could put the money aside for the boys future education. Eventually Chris agreed. It took them almost an hour to gather enough clothing for the boys for a week or more, plus gather supplies for when they started school next week.

As Chris drove to the ranch, he was amazed at the turn the day had taken. This morning he had gotten up with the vague notion that he would pick up JD and Vin and they would see what would happen from there. Less than two hours later, Nettie had blown into the house and virtually knocked him up side the head with the fact that certain things needed to be thought out before hand; everything from school lunches to house rules to what he and Buck left around the house. He shuddered to think what would have happened if she hadn't come over this morning.

Then had been the revelations in the hospital room. Chris was still angry about that, but he kept that under tight control. And then the store… It had amazed him that some many people had been willing to pitch in to give the boys a good start. Chris smiled again when he thought of the expression on the face of the older lady that had started it all when JD had given her a surprise hug.

Sighing, Chris pulled up in front of the house and stopped. As he helped JD down this time, he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the look of delight on his face and the excited babbling coming form his mouth. Breaking in when JD stopped to take another breath, he suggest they get inside, but he would bring them back out and show them around once they had everything unpacked. He carefully chose a few of the smaller bags for JD to carry, things that wouldn't be harmed if he lost his grip, and sent him up on the porch. Vin smiled wryly at him when came forward to help carry the rest of it.

Chris smiled back and lead the way inside. This was going to be interesting.


	6. Part 6

**Part 6**

Chris walked the boys into the house, pointing out the different rooms as he led them up stairs to their rooms. He made sure that they knew that they were never to enter a bedroom that wasn't theirs without permission unless it was an emergency. He also assured them that the same rule would apply to he and Buck in regards to their rooms. As he had guessed, Vin and JD chose the room with bunk beds

Leading the way into the larger of the two rooms, Chris set the bags down on the bottom bunk. Turning to the two boys he said, "We have two rooms for you guys, but I wanted to get your opinion first. Vin, you can have the room next door by yourself, or you can all be in here together."

Vin didn't hesitate at all before saying, "We'll stay together," and hugging JD close. When he saw Chris nod in agreement, he released a silent breath of relief.

Chris had expected that, and agreed readily. "We'll move the other bed in here before Ezra is released. It'll be a little tight maybe, but you should be pretty comfortable." With that settle, all three fell to sorting out storage space and putting things away.

Chris marveled again at the differences and similarities in the two boys under his care. Both boys had picked out blue jeans and t-shirts. But while Vin had gone for plain shirts, or those with a slightly western look, JD had headed straight for the bright colors and cartoon characters, he seemed to have a decided bent for Blue's Clues. A program about which Chris knew nothing. At least it wasn't that damned annoy yellow sponge! He could take a blue dog long before he could stomach a talking sponge.

Both boys had been anxious when he had told them they could pick out what they wanted. It had taken a little convincing, but they had done it. Vin had even had the foresight to buy things a little bigger to give them growing room. He had confessed to Chris that he had just started his growth spurt. Chris frowned when he thought of the frightened expression that had been on the boy's face as he told him. Apparently at some time in the past, Vin had been punished when he out grew his clothes. _As if he had any control over it!_ Chris mentally snarled at the absent culprit.

Pulling himself out of the dour train of thought, Chris helped the boys fold clothes and stow them in the dresser drawers and stash the book bags in the bottom of the closet in preparation for the tests that were set to take place the beginning of the week, after Ezra was released. Chris was not really looking forward to that. According to the records he had seen, Vin was going to need a lot of help. He had been doing very poorly in school when he disappeared, and he had missed the last nineteen months of school to boot. JD wouldn't be so bad, as he should just be starting school at all. And he had no idea where Ezra stood. But if the way the boy spoke was any indication, he was a very bright boy, so he should be able to catch up anything that he was missing.

Just as he and Vin were finishing, Chris saw JD eyeing a set of painted wooden horses that were standing on the top of the dresser and smiled. "JD?" The small boy turned to look at him, he continued, "Go on and take a look, Vin and I can finish up." JD smiled brilliantly and practically skipped over to investigate.

Hearing a chuckle from the young teen at his side he raised a questioning eyebrow. Vin just chuckled a little more before explaining, "JD has a short attention span, and more energy than I ever did. Even when I was that age!" Vin smile crookedly, "It's nice to see him with something to look at and not have to check it out first to make sure it won't hurt him."

As he and Vin put away the last few things, Chris wonder what it must have been like for Vin raising two small boys on his own, when he was still a boy himself. Thinking again, though, he realized that Ezra was too independent, it had probably been the two of them trying to raise JD. As he speculated on these things, a voice piped up from behind them.

JD was very excited as he said, "Vin, this one's like the one in Ezrwa's storwies!"

A raised eyebrow at Chris got him a nod for him to go over and see what JD was talking about. Vin went over and looked, "Yeah, he is, JD." Picking up the one JD was looking at, a black with a blazed face, "Looks just like Peso, don't he, JD?"

Chris come over to look over their shoulders as they talk about the horse. He had made those for Adam, one before he was born, then one for each birthday after that. They had been a joint project between he and Sarah, he had carved them; then she painted them. Each horse was in a different pose. The one Vin had called Peso looked wild with his head thrown back in challenge, mane and tail flying. He watched as Vin carefully set the black down and picked up another from the back of the herd. This one was a smaller, playful looking bay.

"JD, don't this sort of look like Bowler?" Vin asked, bring the five-year-old's attention to it.

"Yeah," JD cheered as he took the figure from his brother. JD delicately traced the figure with one finger before setting it beside the black they had already examine.

Gently, JD touched each of the others, seemingly looking for something in particular. "Vin, Chaucer ain't here. You think he got lost?"

Vin looked sad for a moment, before saying, "JD, these horses weren't made for Ezra's stories. Just 'cause there's a couple that look like Peso and Bowler don't mean there has to be one for Chaucer."

"Oh," JD sounded so disappointed Chris just had to ask.

"What are you boys talking about? Who are Bowler, Peso, and Chaucer?" Vin and JD jumped a little, since they had not been expecting the question, but they didn't seem frightened, so he didn't move away. He wanted them to get used to being around people again.

"Ezrwa makes up storwies. In the storwies, my horse is Bowlerw, ya know like a bowlerw hat? He's brwown 'n black and fr...frwisky! Ezrwa told me that means playful. And Vin's horse is Peso, he's a black musthang that the Indians gave him. Chaucer's Ezrwa horse. He's a chestnut."

Chris nodded his understanding, JD was concerned that Ezra would feel left out if his horse wasn't in the group. While he was thinking, Vin and JD had moved on and started to investigate other things in the room.

Clearing his throat, Chris said, "Vin, JD? I'm going to go down to the kitchen and start lunch. You can take the horses into the living room and play with them if you want." Chris helped the boys carry the horses down stairs and set up on the floor, before leaving them to start the meal. It was a simple meal of sandwiches and soup, but he could see the additional groceries that Mz Nettie had delivered.

As he watched the boys eat a half hour later, he asked himself again what in the world he had gotten himself into.

* * *

That evening after JD and Vin had gone to bed, Chris sat down heavily in his favorite chair in the living room. It had been a long day, and he wasn't finished yet. He still had to wait for Buck to get home, and have a talk with him, then they would do evening chores. Thinking of feeding the horses, made Chris smile as he remembered JD's reaction to the large animals.

The first thing that had come out of JD's mouth when they entered the barn was, "They'rwe so big!" But even with his surprise at their size, he had shown absolutely no fear of them. Chris had to remind him twice not to try to enter the stalls with out someone else there to help him. Not the JD could open the stall doors by himself anyway. He had flitted from one stall to another oohing and aahing over each horse in turn, though Chris thought he did seem to have a specific fondness for the bay colt that had been born a few months ago. He had to admit it was a handsome animal.

Chris was still smiling over the memory when he heard a small sound behind him and looked over his shoulder. At the base of stairs stood Vin, looking very uncomfortable and nervous. To help the boy make up his mind, Chris said, "Vin, do you need something?" He had had a horrible time convincing Vin that he wouldn't be punished if he asked for something.

Vin continued to stand at the foot of the stairs, and shifted his weight. "I's need to talk ta ya'."

Chris nodded and pointed to the end of the couch opposite him. "Why don't you take a seat and get whatever it is off your chest."

A ghost of a smile flitted over Vin's face as he walked over and sat down. When Vin didn't speak right away, Chris took the time to take a good look at him. The first major difference from the waif they had found thirty-six hours ago, was he was clean! That combined with clean clothes and good food for a full day had put a little color back in the boy's face.

Finally, Vin heaved a big breath before started, "I just wanted to tell you a few things so you's don't think we're just being stubborn."

Chris leaned forward slightly, not wanting to crowd Vin, but wanting to show his support. "Like what, Vin?"

Vin glanced up momentarily, before dropping his gaze to his hands, "Ezra don't drink milk or eat cheese, it'll make him sick if he does. You have to be real careful with his shoulder, cause it… dislocates easy." Chris noted the way Vin carefully pronunciated the word. "He don't like getting dirty, and he absolutely hates being locked up. He and I's the same like that. He real smart, too."

Chris nodded his understanding and encouraged Vin to continue.

Vin smiled slightly as he spoke, "JD's different. He's real smart like Ezra. Ezra's been teaching him since we found him, but JD don't sit still well. Ezra'd be happy just to sit and read for hours, JD wants to be up doin' stuff. Ezra and me'll try to keep him out of trouble, but sometimes he slips away from us," Vin tried to reassure their new guardian.

Looking at Vin now, trying to explain his two adopted brothers to a complete stranger, Chris could easily have believed him to be sixteen to eighteen except for his size. It pained him that the boy had lost his childhood to the need to survive. "It's all right, Vin. He's a little boy, and boys get into trouble." Chris watched the relief quickly fly across Vin's face. When Vin didn't say anything more, he asked, "What about you?" Suddenly the twelve-year-old across from him was made of steel, he was so tense.

"I's just me. Nothing special. Ezra's been helpin' me with my schoolin' since we met," the way Vin looked away from Chris made him suspicious that there was more to it than that.

Very gently, Chris leaned forward and laid a hand on Vin's arm. When he looked up at Chris, he said softly, "If there's something you need me to know, like Ezra and the milk, just tell me. You won't be punished for it."

"I…" Vin seemed unable to continue, and Chris was about to give up Vin finished, "I can't read good. Ezra figured out why and was helpin' me, but all the stuff was in the warehouse when they made us get out. We was hopin' to be able to sneak back in and get the rest of our stuff, but there weren't never a chance."

"Did Ezra ever tell you why you couldn't read well?"

"Yeah, Ezra had something he called it, but I never can remember what it is. Starts with a 'D' though, I think. He told me that when I look at them words, they don't look the same to me that they do to everybody else. The letters get all out of order." Vin looked up at Chris to see if he believed him.

"Dyslexia?" Chris asked. When Vin's face lit with recognition, Chris sighed. For years this boy had endured the stigma of bad grades, because no one had taken the time to find out what the problem was. Vin had been slated to be moved into a "special education" class when he disappeared.

"Yeah, that's it!" Vin was excited that Chris knew what he was talking about and seemed to believe him.

Curious about what Vin had said earlier, and wanting to get off a subject that was making his blood boil, Chris asked, "What all did you lose at the warehouse? Maybe I can find out it any of it was found and get it returned."

A real smile of hope lit Vin face. "I still had my mother's picture when I got off the bus, that was there. Ezra still had his Daddy's watch and a deck of cards. And my coat and Ezra's coat and shoes. Ezra had collected books people had thrown out, so we could all practice readin'. Blankets and stuff for keepin' warm. Umm…some toys we salvaged for JD, a stuffed dog and couple small cars. And we had about ten dollars left from Ezra's last game." Vin suddenly shut up a look of fear filling his face.

Chris was instantly beside him, touching him and speaking softly, "What's wrong, Vin?"

"You won't punish him, will you? I know it was bad, but it was the only way!" Vin grabbed Chris's wrist above where his hand rested on Vin's arm and held on as he spoke.

Seeing the distress in Vin's eyes, Chris spoke calmly, "Vin, you need to tell me exactly what you mean. I won't punish Ezra for anything he's done in the past," Chris thought, _It's a miracle that they've survived, I'm not about to punish any of them for doing what was necessary to stay alive!_

"Ezra'd play poker for money for food," Vin confessed quietly, looking away from the kind man that had taken them in. When Chris remained silent, Vin rushed on, "It was the only way! I tried to get a real job, but no one'd hire me, cause I's too young. One man tried to get me to…to…" Vin broke off shuddering in disgust at the memory. "But I couldn't, not if there was any other way. Ezra wouldn't of let me either, as long as he could win with the cards."

Gambling, poker…Chris thought the boys might have turned to petty theft to stay alive, and Vin was confessing to Ezra playing poker like he expected to be thrown back onto the streets for it! And the rest of it! Chris swallowed the nausea that rose in his throat when Vin mentioned the man that had wanted Vin to work for him. It didn't take much imagination to know what he would have wanted Vin to do. Vin was a beautiful child, and there would always be perverts that wanted to exploit that.

When Vin would down to a close, Chris reached out and lifted Vin chin so that he could see his eyes. The tears that had gathered in those fearful crystal blue eyes, chipped a little more away from the wall he had built around his heart.

"It's all right, Vin. You did what was necessary to survive. Of course, I don't want Ezra to gamble when he's living here, but I definitely will not punish him for keeping you all alive." Vin deflated immediately, and Chris pulled tired teen against his chest.

"He didn't want to, but I couldn't do it. It hurt him so much, but it was the only thing we could think of," Vin mumbled, eyes just a little vacant as he remembered.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked puzzled.

"Poker's one of the things Ezra's ma taught him. He didn't want anything to do with it after we got together, but he was good at it and I ain't, so's it had to be him." Vin sighed, half asleep as the tension of the last few days caught up with him.

Chris sat quietly holding the boy as he fell asleep, a comfort he thought had probably been a rare thing in his life. When he was sure he wouldn't wake him up, Chris shifted his grip and stood, carrying the sleeping boy in his arms. Turning toward the stairs, he saw Buck stand just inside the front door. Neither of them had heard him come in. Jerking his head toward the couch, he indicated for Buck to wait for him, then started up stairs to put Vin to bed.

* * *

Chris carefully maneuvered into the boy's room, trying to be very quiet so as not to wake JD, but to no avail. As soon as he stepped into the room, he heard a quiet voice whisper, "Vin?"

Just as quietly, he answered, "Nope, it's Chris, JD. Vin fell asleep downstairs, so I brought him up." He walked over, and seeing JD in the lower bunk, started to lay Vin in the top bunk.

"Mr. Chris?"

"Yes, JD," Chris continued to maneuver Vin under the covers.

"Can…can Vin sleep down here with me?" asked that same small voice.

Chris smiled sadly, "Sure, JD." They were so afraid of being separated, so afraid of adults period, he could barely believe Vin had trusted him the way he had downstairs.

Picking Vin up again, Chris let JD help him arrange him under the covers on the bottom bunk, then JD climbed in beside him and cuddled up. Chris couldn't resisted stroking JD's hair a couple of times before he turned and left the room. He thought about returning downs stairs directly, but decided to stop off to his room to retrieve a small box from the back of his closet first before rejoining Buck in the living room.

He found Buck sitting on the couch where Vin had been earlier, looking equal parts shocked, appalled, and sorrowful. Chris could understand how he felt.

"How much of that did you hear?" Chris asked as he walked back over to his chair.

"When you asked him what they lost at the warehouse. God, Chris," Buck rubbed his hand over his face.

Sitting down, he set the box he had brought down beside him on the floor. "Vin came down after JD was in bed to talk to me. Seems Ezra's allergic to milk, or lactose intolerant, or what ever they call it. He wanted to warn me. And JD's hyperactive, but I'd kind of figured that out this afternoon." Chris grinned at Buck and received a matching grinning from his oldest friend who had had the same problem at that age. "One other big thing is that Vin may be dyslexic."

Buck sat up straighter at that, frowning. "That wasn't in his files."

"No, apparently, Ezra recognized it and has been working with Vin on it. We'll have to get it officially diagnosed, but Vin described it as the words not being like everyone else sees them with the letters out of order." Chris raised his eyebrows at his friend as if asking what that sounded like to him.

Sighing, Buck nodded in agreement, "Sounds like dyslexia, alright. Damn, no one took the time to find out what was wrong before, did they?"

It wasn't really a question, so Chris didn't answer, instead he reached for the box on the floor. Placing it in his lap, he opened it and started pulling things from it.

Buck didn't say a word as Chris started working on his project, just smiled and announced that he was going to go see to the horses. Chris grunted noncommittally and waved him on his way. He wanted to get this done before Ezra was released from the hospital.


	7. Part 7

**Part 7**

Four days later, Chris stepped into the living room to find Buck on the floor playing a board game with their two charges.

JD was the first to look up and see him, "Mr. Chrwis!" The boy bounced up off the floor and came over to greet him. Chris quickly accepted the hug that the JD gave him. It had become a habit since the second day they had been there that when ever Chris or Buck returned from work, JD would meet them at the door with a hug. Chris was honest enough with himself to admit that he kind of liked someone being that thrilled about him being home.

Releasing his squirming armful, Chris asked, "How was your day today, boys?"

"Grweat!" JD replied as they walked over to join the grinning Buck and Vin. Chris dropped into his chair to listen as JD took his seat at the game board.

When JD didn't elaborate, Buck spoke up, "Dr. Roberts is going to release Ezra in the morning. He's still got a cough, but it isn't nearly as bad as it was and the infection has cleared. The Doc says it should clear up in the next week or so. He's gained two pounds, so the doc's pleased with that." Chris nodded his agreement, he had seen Ezra yesterday, but there hadn't been time today to stop by.

"Mz Nettie stopped by the hospital this afternoon while we were there. She was saying she'll be here day after tomorrowsometime to help get Ezra settled in." Buck finished off as he watched JD take his turn, then took his turn.

Chris leaned back in his chair and watched the other three playing. Bittersweet memories of Buck, Sarah, and he playing similar games with Adam came to mind as he watched JD laugh at some silly thing Buck had said. Vin didn't say much, just grinned at the antics of the older man and young boy that were with him. Vin looked up at Chris and caught his eye. Chris smiled at him in reassurance. Standing, Chris announced that he was going to go start dinner.

"You made dinner last night, Big Dog. How 'bout I do the cookin' tonight?" Buck offered.

"Buck, you forget I know your cooking. If you don't cook it with charcoal under it, you make charcoal out of it!" Chris quirked a half grin at his sputtering friend as he disappeared into the kitchen. He grin widened into a full smile when he heard JD's delighted laughter and a quieter chuckle from Vin float through the door into the kitchen.

* * *

A couple hours later, the boys were in bed and Buck and Chris sat in the living room after the finished the evening chores. Chris was just finishing the last touches to the horse he was making for Ezra, and Buck was watching a movie.

With a final swipe of the paint brush, Chris leaned back and looked at the completed horse. This was horse he had been working on just before Adam's death, a chestnut posed with his neck arched proudly. Chris thought sadly of the night, three days before their deaths, when Sarah had mixed the paint especially for the exact color of chestnut she wanted. After they died, Chris had packed away the partially done horse and all the tools and paints that went into the project.

Sighing he called Buck over, "Hey, what d'ya think?"

Buck walked over from where he had been sitting watching the TV to inspect the carved figure. "Looks good, Pard. Looks just like what JD described." JD had taken great pains to explain to Buck what he and Vin were playing at during the day. He had even related to Buck some of Ezra's stories as they acted them out with the wooden horses.

"Good," Chris said as he started putting away the tools and paints he had used to finish it. Taking the brushes he went into the kitchen and cleaned them. Returning he finished packing them back into the box they had been in. He would leave to horse out over night to dry then hide it before the boys got up in the morning. He'd give it to Ezra when they got him home tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning was a exercise in marginally controlled chaos!

Both Vin and JD were both awake early and excited about Ezra coming home. Chris watched covertly from the doorway as Vin tried four times to get JD to sit still long enough to get dressed. It took all of his self control to keep from laughing at the look of fond exasperation on Vin face as he knelt to tie JD's shoes. Quietly he made his way back down stairs to wait and made breakfast.

After a hurriedly eaten breakfast of eggs and bacon, he piled the boys into his truck and drove to the hospital. Buck had to work today, but they were all off tomorrow and had plans to meet at the ranch.

Getting Ezra released from the hospital was almost anticlimactic. All they had to do was wait for Dr. Roberts to sign the paperwork and the wheelchair to arrive and they would be on their way.

Chris watched his charges as they talked, Vin and JD filling Ezra in on everything that had happened after they left the day before. JD seemed to be describing what had happened the night before when Chris and Buck had moved the extra bed in with the bunks for Ezra. Buck had left Chris to set up the frame and gone back for the mattresses. After getting the box spring propped against the wall he had started shifting the top mattress around. Unexplainably, Buck had slipped and lost his footing, falling on his butt under the mattress. Chris, Vin, and JD had laughed their heads off as Buck hammed it up trying to get out from under the monstrosity.

Chris grinned in remembrance as Ezra laughed with JD and Vin as they told him the story.

When the orderly pushed through the door to Ezra's room, Chris said, "Well, Ezra, are you ready to get out of here?"

Ezra stood, in his slightly too large sweat suit and coat, and walked forward, saying, "Indeed, Mr. Larabee. I am most gratified that you have terminated my medical incarceration."

As the small boy was situated in the wheel-chair, Chris shook his head. It still amazed him that such a small body could put so many fifty cent words in one sentence.

When Chris didn't answer right away, Vin offered, "He means thanks for getting him out of here."

"I know what he meant, Vin. It just surprises me every time I hear him talk like that," Chris explained as he took control of the wheelchair from the orderly, glaring at him to keep him from protesting.. The young aide just shrugged and walked along beside them as they exited the room.

Vin grinned and said, "If you think that's bad, you should have heard 'em when I first met him. I don't think he said a word that din't have 'least three syl'bles."

Chris didn't have the chance to reply when an annoyed voice floated up from the chair he was pushing. "It is most impolite to talk about a person as if they were not present when they are."

All of them chuckled at that, even Ezra gave in and grinned.

This trip to Wal-mart was just as surprising as the last, but for different reasons. Chris was astounded when the eight year old chose clothing that that most children would have hated. Instead of blue jeans and t-shirts, he went for polo shirts, dress slacks, button down shirts….nothing that could be considered play clothes at all.

That is, after Chris spent half an hour convincing him it was alright to voice an opinion at all. Actually, when Chris thought back on it later, it was actually Vin that finally convinced Ezra that he could have a say in it.

Chris finally reached a compromise with the seemingly miniature lawyer he was to be caring for. He convinced Ezra that he would need some clothes that he could not worry about getting dirty, since Ezra had already expressed an interest in the horses, and Ezra was allowed to pick out some outfits that he felt were, as he put it, 'appropriate for our return to academia.' It took Chris a couple seconds to realize that Ezra was talking about their return to school and wondered where in the world Ezra had attended that required their students to wear dress slacks, white button down cotton shirts, and ties.

Arriving at the ranch, Chris quickly gave Ezra the same tour and guidelines he had laid out for the others. Chris smiled when the first thing JD did after they got Ezra's things put away was to pull out the horses and tell Ezra about them and again he suggested that they could take the horses to the living room to play if they wanted. When the boys agreed to it, he left the room and retrieved his surprise for the newest arrival.

* * *

Entering the living room, he found the three of them on the floor sorting out who would have which of the horses. Clearing his throat, he got their attention and walked over. Noting the wary look in Ezra green eyes, he squatted down to be closer to his level.

"Ezra, JD and Vin were telling us about your stories and the horses in them, so I thought you might want this." With that Chris handed Ezra the chestnut he had finished the night before.

Ezra looked at the figure in Larabee's hand in confusion. Vin and JD had told him about the set of horses, and he had enjoyed hearing about them playing out his stories. But this was different, this wasn't something that Chris happened to have in the house and was letting them use. This was something that he had put effort into getting. Ezra didn't understand.

Nervously, Ezra took the offered toy and looked at it. Vin and JD crowd close to get a good look at it too. "It's him, Ezrwa! It's Chaucerw!" JD exclaimed excitedly reaching for it so that he could look more closely. Ezra allowed him to take the animal and looked back up at Chris who had stood when Ezra took the horse from him.

"Thank you, Mr. Larabee," Ezra said, still unsure how he should respond. When Chris smiled at him he relaxed and turned back to his brothers and asked Vin which story he wanted to play out.

Chris backed away from where the boys sat and watched them for a few minutes. He had seen the trepidation and uncertainty in Ezra's eyes as he offered him the chestnut. It saddened him that Ezra was so uncomfortable accepting gifts and kindness. He knew so very little about Ezra, but it was blatantly obvious that the boy was not used to being cared for at all.

Sighing, he turned and left them to their game. Silently he vowed to make sure to investigate their new family thoroughly. He was going to personally make sure that they never had reason to feel that kind of uncertainty and fear again.

A good family with loving parents was just what they needed.

So why did the idea of them leaving give Chris such a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach?

* * *

It was a busy day, that first day having all three of the boys home. Chris had discovered early on that Vin loved working with the horses. His second day there he had hesitantly offered to help with the evening chores. Chris agreed to let him help and was surprised to find that the boy made a good companion while he worked. While he didn't say much, he usually had an interesting and humorous take on everyday occurrences.

Tonight, however, he seemed distracted and restless as they worked. After watching Vin jerk his attention back to what he was doing for the third time, Chris walked over and gently pulled the bucket from his hands and sent him back inside. Vin gave him a crooked grin in thanks and took off for the house. He was just too distracted right now to keep his mind on chores.

Chris chuckled as he watched the long-haired teenager run toward the house. It was good to see the usually too serious kid excited about something. In the last few days he had gotten to know the kid better, and had seen momentary glimpses once in a while of the devious little imp that lived behind the serious façade. He shook his head as he remembered watching Vin sneak up behind Buck two days ago. It had worked too, Buck had jumped so badly that he nearly dropped the bag of feed he had been carrying into the barn at the time. Chris had razzed his good friend about the big Federal Agent that got taken out by a twelve-year-old. Buck had take the teasing in stride, just happy to have Chris comfortable enough to tease him.

Chris finished up quickly and headed for the house to help Buck put the boys to bed. They had been told in no uncertain terms that the boys could get themselves ready for bed, but it still made them feel better if they were upstairs in the area. _Just in case the boys needed anything_, they told themselves.

Trying not to crowd them, Chris and Buck stayed out of the way, but available as the boys got ready for bed. As usual Vin helped JD with his bath before taking his own shower. Ezra then did his own 'ablutions' by himself, but very quickly.

Waiting fifteen minutes after the lights went out, Buck and Chris crept to the door of their room and looked in. JD had lain claim to the single bunk, leaving Vin on the top bunk and Ezra in the bottom bunk. They looked so peaceful and innocent as they slept. As if they hadn't a care in the world.

Carefully closing the door, Buck and Chris moved back down stairs.

"Things went pretty good today, huh, Chris?" Buck asked.

"Yeah," Chris sighed as he sat down. "Pretty well, I've got a few more questions about Ezra, but all in all, it was a good day."

"Like what?" Buck asked as he leaned back.

Shrugging, Chris said, "Ezra seems to be under the impression that he can't attend school in anything less than clothes that could be worn to meet the President. Those kind of schools are usually expensive, and that doesn't jive with what Doc Roberts said about the abuse. It just doesn't make sense."

Buck frowned and thought about that for a few moments. "I don't know, Chris. When are you meeting with the principal and having the tests done?"

"Two days, and we're all going," Chris shot his old friend a meaningful glare.

Raising his hands in submission, Buck readily agreed, "Okay, sure." After a moment, he went on, "Josiah and Nathan were talking about coming over Saturday afternoon for a few hours to get to know Ezra better. All Josiah could talk about today was how much fun he had watching Vin and JD yesterday. You'd think he was the one fostering them the way he went on this mornin'." Buck grinned and shook his head as he thought about the usually quiet man's rambling.

Chris frowned slightly as he replied, "If they want to come out, fine, but I hope they don't get to attached. They're not going…"

Buck cut him off as he stood and headed upstairs to his room, "Chris, stop and listen to yourself. I know you think you mean that, but I want you to stop and think about it. Who are you trying to convince, me…or yourself? In the last week you've been more alive than I've seen you in five years. He…heck, you even pulled out and finished that horse so that Ezra would feel left out!" Buck corrected himself swiftly when Chris frowned at his language. They had had quite a discussion about language and other things when he had returned from doing chores that first night the boys where at the ranch. Buck couldn't believe how many things he hadn't thought of until Chris pointed them out.

Looking compassionately at his friend, Buck asked more quietly, "Do you really think you could give up those boys now? They've been here less than a week, and done more for you than I've been able to do for the last five years. Chris, don't let a fear of repeating the past stop you from enjoying the present and the future." With that Buck left Chris to think about what he said and went upstairs.

And for once, Chris took his advice. He sat and thought about the boys that had been placed in his care.

And he thought about giving them to someone else. About letting someone else safeguard those precious lives that had been delivered into his care by fate, God, destiny or whatever you wanted to call it.

Dragging his hand over his face, Chris sighed and conceded that Buck was right. Standing he walked upstairs, still thinking. There was no way in HELL he was going to let anyone take those boys away. Just the idea brought images of green and blue eyes filled with fear and betrayal to his mind, and he would do just about anything to keep from seeing that for real. They had gained Ezra and Vin's trust, a feat that he was sure wasn't easy. He couldn't imagine betraying that trust, freely given, and somehow he knew that would be how those boys would take it. JD might bounce back from it, but Vin and Ezra wouldn't.

Walking past the boys room, Chris stopped when he heard voices.

"What d'ya think, Ez?" Chris recognized Vin's slight Texas drawl and waited anxiously for Ezra's reply. When all was silent, Chris almost left thinking that Ezra must have been asleep and wasn't going to answer.

"I think it's time to choose to chance the rapids, Vin," finally came the almost inaudible Southern accented reply.

Chris slumped silently against the wall beside their door, almost missing Vin's equally reply, "Yeah, that's what I was thinkin', too. 'Night, Ezra."

Careful not to make any noise, Chris retreated down the hall to his room. He didn't allow himself to think about what he had heard until he was in bed. _'I think it's time to choose to chance the rapids,'_ Ezra had said and Vin had agreed.

Chris pondered what they had said. After a few minutes a fragment of an old song floated through his memory. _So don't you sit upon the shoreline and say you're satisfied, choose to chance the rapids and dare to dance the tide!_

"They're going to take the chance," Chris said softly.

It was a precious and sacred gift to be allowed to raise a child. He had known that once, before Adam and Sarah died. Now he had another chance. But he was afraid of getting hurt again.

After all of the hurt they had endured, they were still willing to take the chance with him.

He knew he could do no less. He'd call DFS first thing in the morning.

_THE END _

For now anyway :)


End file.
